How Brand Loyal are you?

Form aftershave to ammo, vodka to toilet tissue, it’s taken me a lifetime to figure out what worker for me. I’ll stick with the brands that I like as long as they are available.

a reply to: The2Billies

I don't have a penny of debt, nor will i ever. Not even a mortgage.

If i want something, i save.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I've participated in many online focus groups over the years, there is one constant among the companies -- they really do not gove a crap if all you want is a good product, because they're obsessed with their image & any possible way to score some SJW points.

Certain P & G brands are among the worst who do not listen to the feedback. Example being something like "I just want effective dish detergent, I don't care about your charity/social angle" is nearly always resoundingly brushed off, or danced around, no matter how many participants say it.


Haven't ng said that, I'm not loyal per se, but I have a few preferred brands that I find work better than others and will choose them over other options.

Well, price permitting, I like Tide a hell of a lot, but I'm not shelling out an arm & a leg when something else just as effective but weaker in scent (oh, hai Arm & Hammer) is substantially cheaper.

Outside of that, I don't give two flying mother #s what their "driving ethic" or "motivational cause" is -- just take my money, hand over the goods, we both keep mouths zipped & walk away happy.

Start to get preachy, and I start buying less of your stuff, and browse more socially offensive product and/or brand options.

Basically, I'm good unless you're being a mouthy nag company Then I get all, "Aw, you gun hafta make me care".

I work in a service industry where uptime is absolutely critical, so over the years I've developed a strong loyalty for things that work. Find what works and stick with it.

I will say it's been a long time since I've been wooed away from a product. The times I've switched were because a product got discontinued, or there were "running changes" which really messed up the product (guess nobody remembers New Coke and its lessons anymore).

originally posted by: Tulpa
a reply to: JAGStorm

For some products it's a good idea to do a little homework and see where they're made.

I did some agency work when I was between jobs and ended up at a place that made garlic bread.

The packing line did "runs" for various orders during the shift and we had a little break while they changed the wrapping for the plastic trays with different supermarkets own packaging.
They were the same product but with different branded packs so probably got priced differently in each store.

I know it's not the same for a lot of products but it wouldn't be sensible in this instance to buy the highest priced when the same thing is cheaper elsewhere.

yes i was just telling my wife about house brands. cheaper than name brand.

some canned goods i stick with the name. stuff like pasta it really doesn't matter unless you need real imported shapes.

trial and error is my usual mo.

oh, what really gets me are shavers!

nowi go with cheap house brand plastic disposible. cheap 5 paks but i really want a double edge brass one like my grand dad used. i lost it yrs ago but the prices are crazy for new ones. and blades could have availability/quality problems.

i'd try that harry's? brand tho.

i just use water or pump hand soap instead of shaving cream. Einstein said water works just as good as the cream.
always wanted a cup and brush tho.
forget the straight razor, lol. i'd need an EMT next to me when i used it.

speaking of hair..

that apropicia sp) thing, is that just woman targeted or can men get it?

a reply to: sarahvital

speaking of hair.. that apropicia sp) thing, is that just woman targeted or can men get it?

Alopecia can happen to men or women, there is also male pattern baldness.
Alopecia can usually be spotted when people lose their eyebrows and eyelashes in addition to the hair on their head.
With male pattern baldness…. I don’t know what it is but it appears all the hair moves from their head to everywhere else on their body, they are usually the hairiest people!

As far as shaving, maybe tmi, I like to use shaving gel on my legs but for my pits I just dry shave those. I’ve never got razor burn either.

a reply to: JAGStorm

The LAYS Lightly Salted in the light blue bags?
Haven't seen the for about 2 months at our store.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Very is my answer when it comes to worktools and electrical equipment.

I have tools that are still good at 80 plus years old and look like new and are unique , nowadays everything is mass produced garbage that is junked withi less than a decade if your very lucky 3 years is the normal now .

They all sold out and now everything looks the same but they don't make things to last , so my OCD went OTT during the alleged lockdown and I collected vast amounts a American hoarder would bow down to , some people do porn I do power tools and hand tools and enjoy renovating and looking after them if looked after they will see another 100 years ,but now it's all about the name , quality control got made redundant and the race to the bottom has been reached




Then they started digging lol

I like having tools that can survive living outside in minus 20-30 c for months at a time ,when you forget to take them inside ,charge the battery again and working perfectly . I still have my first drill I got when I was 7 , I love taking these things apart and playing with them before they dementia took hold , Artwork also with me I have way to much of everything and need to declutter ,as I am thinking about moving to somewhere quieter

originally posted by: JAGStorm
I like what I like and I am not changing.
This is especially true when it comes to soaps, detergents and things like that.

You are a victim of advertising brainwashed by greedy parasites who fight over tiny percentages of market share, let me explain...

Years ago, I worked at a British design packaging company who had Lever Brothers for their main client covering the UK and Europe but the process is similar the world over. We designed the packaging for things like PERSIL, RADION, DOVE, OMO, etc.

Part of the process involved mock ups of new designs for market research, the kind that fills a room with housewives and asks them about the LOOK and SMELL and GIMMICK of the products to see which would sell best.

The product function inside the pack was almost irrelevant.

As part of the process, we recieved endless samples of existing products to base new designs on, and as a result, we would need to empty all the boxes and containers so as not to have accidents in the studio.

30 litre buckets for washing detergent powders, liquids, blocks, cleaning liquids and soap bars etc. Seperate uses but brands mixed together.

Workers were allowed to take what they wanted for normal use, we had tons of the stuff.

WE knew it was all basically the same stuff because we were the ones who read the ingredients and description text in detail day after day for years. It was our job.

Point is... the products are just basic SOAP in fancy forms, constantly updated and formulated in MINUTE DEGREES to convince customers it is a wonderful "New Formula", "Better Than Ever", blah blah blah. Slogans are their psycological key and they are the hooks that trap people for sometimes a lifetime and they cost YOUR pocket for nothing more than a sense of entitlement when you graze the shelves in supermarkets having been psycologically manipulated by cool and clever and expensive adverts on TV screens and in the press.

The advertising costs are CRAZY and that is what you mostly pay for with a brand name. NOT THE PRODUCT because of high quality. You pay a high price for BRANDING.

A "BRAND" is what cattle get. It's a sign of possession.

We also used competitor products a lot for the marketing and design and there was no way to tell which was which compared to the Lever Brothers products once something was unpackaged. The proof was there when we took things home from the pooled rescources in the buckets and bins and used them for ourselves.

SOAP in different forms with nice smells.

And the WASTE!!! OMG!

By the time an updated pack was released, we were working on the next, it was a production line of obsolescence to keep the masses HOOKED in feeling privaleged and able to afford "The Better Then Ever New Fast Acting Super Formula".

Sometimes it pays to understand what something REALLY is, and I have played the man behind the curtain when it comes to flushing money down drains....LITERALLY.

A great product sells itself by a great reputation and doesn't need constant changing.

It's SOAP in many forms in many smells in different packets folks. It ALL gets disposed of to mother nature when it's served it's purpose.

No wonder she's pissed!

Don't be brainwashed by large corporations because your pockets are bigger than others or you will be branded.

Mooo!

I forgot one other thing the Atlanta State Farmers Market Forest Park, Georgia, find you a good real Farmer's market

My dad used to take his grandmother to the Farmer's Market down by the airport in Atlanta way back in the late 60s and early 70's Id usually go to Nothing but concrete row after row of bushels of all kinds of vegetables and cheap. LOL Dad would tell the vendors don't haggle with her over the price he would pay the difference, he said we'd be there all day cause she would haggle over a nickel for a bushel of snap beans or muscadines. But she would leave there and we would have a trunk full of vegetables. A few days later he would get loads of her homemade vegetable soup She made the best damn vegetable soup ever, 50 years later my sister and Mom still make it using Grandmother Mae's recipe, it's good


I finally got a chance to go back when I lived on the south side in the 2000s and it is still there, the selection was still huge and cheap. Collards, Vidalia Onions, corn, cabbage, peanuts, peaches, tomatoes, all kinds of potatoes, okra, snap beans, I got so many different peppers I made myself sick, etc. But seriously when they are in season the damn peaches alone are worth the trip.

www.atlantaproducedealers.org...

www.facebook.com...

a reply to: JAGStorm

I have to admit I have a samsung tablet, samsung phone, samsung watch and samsung tv.

I could never give myself to anything apple, what with their ridiculous right to repair policy.... yet samsung is apparently following their lead, so who knows how long my allegiance will stand.

I will never buy a product that breaks if you replace a component. apple gets the middle finger.

Not saying samsung is great, but just my brand of familiar. heck, they've got all my info anyway, why spread it around more than needed..

As for anything else, if it smells nice, looks nice, works well, doesn't break at the drop of a hat, is stable, and doesn't fail due to planned obsolescence, I'm not fussed about brands...

a reply to: JAGStorm

I am not brand loyal for most things like clothes and food, but things like tech I tend to like what I like. The fastest way for me to change brands is for a company to go 'woke' in which case I will boycott them forever.

In my country, it looks like most of the supermarkets (grocery stores?) have discontinued offering the cheapest products when it's not their own supermarket brand, so you're forced to buy their brand (which is the next cheapest one). It's really annoying cause some of them were my favorite brands, I even preferred them over the expensive brands, such as Highway Cola over Coca Cola and Pepsi, now I'm forced to buy Jumbo cola (the supermarket brand), which I really don't like, but I drink a lot of cola, so the expensive brands are not a good option. The cola one is the one that bugs me the most cause no other supermarket in my country offers big bottles of Highway Cola either (only cans).

There was one product (baguettes for baking) I was forced to trade down because they discontinued the expensive brand (which was higher quality but less grams than the cheaper versions, which was perfect for my needs, now I have to throw away 50 grams of the bread cause otherwise my hamburgers are too small; plus the bread isn't as tasty). Went to another supermarket the other day and they didn't have the expensive brand anymore either (and this is usually a supermarket that specializes in expensive brands, so not sure why they wouldn't have it anymore either, perhaps the manufacturer isn't selling it anymore).

Otherwise, I usually stick with what I know I like and don't change unless I'm forced to by the supermarket discontinuing my favorite brand.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I'm certainly not downgrading my healthy diet for foods loaded with high fructose corn syrup. I've experimented with lower prices whiskeys but they've all caused worse after effects than the higher quality ones...it's not healthy.

I won't be switching to lower quality brands. We've moved to include more rice and beans in our diet and will buy less luxury items, but spending money on inferior products is often a waste of money.

a reply to: putnam6

Aldi's, who ranks #7 in the US since they also own Trader Joe's, along with the other mega-grocers, are part of the problem with our food supply.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: putnam6

Aldi's, who ranks #7 in the US since they also own Trader Joe's, along with the other mega-grocers, are part of the problem with our food supply.

And, all are owned by the same "corporation"

originally posted by: InwardDiver
I'm certainly not downgrading my healthy diet for foods loaded with high fructose corn syrup.

Nor should you. There are plenty of healthy options for people who are not lazy and can cook instead of just dumping out the contents of a box or cartoon and hitting 'cook' on the microwave.

originally posted by: SE4E4S
And, all are owned by the same "corporation"

Who? All of them? Not true. They major US grocers are all publicly traded.